MPC Press International

It is so nice to have an empty inbox. But I have not ended a day achieving that goal in years.  How many of us have?  And does it count as a clean inbox if you simply create new folders and place your emails in these folders?  As with most people, my inbox functions at least partially as a To Do list and I won’t delete an email until I’ve read (at least the subject line), responded to, or acted on the email.  I even go through my spam email to make sure I’m not missing an important item.  A full inbox does drive me crazy; I keep a written To Do list at my desk which often includes “email Bob Bishop” or “reply to Jackie Jones”.  This allows for a cleaner inbox and provides me with a slightly better mindframe when I leave the office or turn out the light.

Tags: email, inbox

My mother has never been a Dr. Seuss fan. I don’t think she has a problem with the stories and the pictures.  But, she prefers the dictionary as it stands and has no appreciation for made up words, especially when taught to children.  I can understand her view, and because of this (and out of respect for her), all of my rhymes in Lawrence the Laughing Cookie Jar and Rhyme pair “real” words (yet some of these words are proper names).  One definition of a rhyme is, “a poem or verse having a regular correspondence of sounds, especially at the ends of lines.” So, Dr. Seuss has every right to rhyme “the far-away Island of Sala-ma-Sond” with “king of the pond” and “Gertrude McFuzz” with “That’s all there was” and “Jungle of Nool” with “cool of the pool”; these certainly are corresponding sounds, even if they aren’t truly words.  My mother’s opinion, though, is that, when you have an opportunity to teach real vocabulary to children, why make up words?  Of course, making up words for the sake of rhyme is often the result of an inability to create a rhyme with real words.  But I don’t think Dr. Seuss had this problem, or did he?  Taking this a step further, we have all read what are supposed to be rhymes that pair words such as “town” and “ground”.  Is this a rhyme?  Some argue “yes” because the sounds are similar.  I don’t know if there is an official answer.  Just as I am not sure if I’m Polish or Austrian, as my ancestors emigrated to the U.S. from Krakow in the mid-19th century when Krakow was part of the Austrian empire.

Tags: Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who, rhyme, Yertle the Turtle

We at MPC Press were ecstatic when Rhyme was reviewed by the Times.  Assuming the review is somewhat positive, it is quite an achievement to have the Times review your book.  With circulation only trailing USA Today and the Wall Street Journal according to a list on Wikipedia , there are few places where an author/publisher would rather be reviewed than the New York Times.  Every bookstore buyer reads the NY Times Book Review and certainly millions of readers take notice.  Sales undoubtedly rise after a review by the Times.  But did I mention that the review of Rhyme was actually by the San Mateo County Times?  So, can someone please tell me how I can get my book reviewed by the New York Times?  Hundreds of books show up daily on the desk of the editor of the NY Times Book Review, so it isn’t easy, I assure you.

Tags: New York Times, San Mateo County Times

Bcc is a good email option, but sometimes I wish it didn’t exist.  Today I emailed a client who owed money, essentially asking for a check, but in an appropriate way; I bcc’d my boss so he would know that I was taking care of the situation.  My boss quickly hit the “Reply to All” key and typed:  “That *%&*@* better pay us!”  Did he mean to hit Reply to All?  I think not, but this was really my fault.  Why didn’t I leave him off the original email and then simply forward the email to him to show I was on top of it?  Hindsight is 20/20.

Tags: bcc, email

We all have favorite lines from books and speeches and poems and songs.  But I think that the most powerful words are simply quotations that come unsupported…words that evoke strong meaning on their own without the background of other lines, sentences, phrases, music, or moments (that help create great speeches).  My own favorite quotation was penned by Oscar Levant, an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor, who lived from 1906 until 1972.  He said, “It’s not what you are, it’s what you don’t become that hurts.”  On first glance one may find these words depressing, but I view them more as inspirational.  Most people are at least somewhat satisfied with their lives.  But, we all think, “what if?”  And that can hurt.  “I should have, I could have, I would have…but I didn’t.”  But you can!  Yes, it is very often too late to achieve certain goals, but not all.  I never had a goal of writing books.  However, it seems that every time I come up with a new idea for a story or book, I can’t let it go.  I can’t stop thinking about the book and what it could be.  Unless I see the truck driver unload thousands of hardbound copies of what was previously just a thought, I am disappointed.  I know that it would hurt if my ideas didn’t become books.  So, while I’m not becoming exactly what I expected and perhaps wanted to become, I am at least partially there…thanks to the books.  For those who are hurting because they want their ideas to become books and can’t find a publisher, don’t give up.  Self-publishing is an option.  Feel free to contact MPC with related questions.

Tags: Oscar Levant, poems, quotation, quote, speeches